Beverage carton display rack



NOV. 17,-1942. J. o m 2,302,139

BEVERAGE CARTON DISPLAY RACK Filed March 19, 1941 Q i I A will Imam. I FI I git!!! MMMM um nii'iiii L 3 ll 3 7 :---'r-- 'r- -"il E if l I I I: 1 1 1 1 gi; 7 L

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Patented Nov. 17, 1942 BEVERAGE CARTON DISPLAY RACK James J. OBrien, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to Barq Bottling 00., Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application March 19, 1941, Serial No. 384,151

4 Claims.

My invention relates to racks in which cartons containing bottles of a beverage can be readily displayed in such a way as to be readily available for removal and yet giving an attractive appearance.

It is customary in the soft drink trade, more particularly, to provide packages formed of six bottles of the beverage held tightly in a carton which encloses the lower portions of the bottles and projects across the bottles at the necks where a handle is formed that can be used in carrying the packages. The handle portions will depress when these packages are stacked one upon the other. It is customary in displaying these cartons of bottles to rest them one upon the other in a pile, but such piles are ordinarily not protected against dislodgment, and as a display located out in a store, this practice is not fully satisfactory. The stacks of packages are divided crosswise by a single plane since the several packages are of the same height, which favors one layer sliding off another, making the stack insecure. When one package is removed from the front of the pile, it discloses the entire structure of the package next behind it which does not give a neat effect in appearance.

My rack is designed to provide a very simple protective structure, suitable for display purposes which protects a stack of bottle packages at the sides while exposing them fully to view and in which provision is made for a breakjoint relationship of the packages in the several piles, thus giving an attractive appearance of the completely filled rack, as well as when the rack is only partially filled.

In addition my rack is so arranged as to give a slight tilt to the bottle packages thus rendering them more secure against dislocation.

The arrangement which I provide has been designed to take three stacks of bottle packages,

each stack being a single stack. An expansion of the rack for double stacks or higher stacks could be made without departure from my novel concept.

I have chosen to illustrate, however, the one single embodiment of my invention and will set forth the novelty inherent therein in the appended claims to which reference is hereby made.

In the drawing: Figure l is a perspective view of the rack. Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing the rack filled with bottle packages.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the showing in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on the line 44 of Fig. l.

Iii

The rack is formed with a sheet metal back I, preferably with a bent overflange for strength, and with a bent metal channel piece 2 secured at the top for support of a display card or the like. The bottom of the rack is formed of a piece of sheet metal 3 which is formed with an intermediate step 4. The length of this bottom is that of three packages of the bottle packages to be displayed, the intermediate step 4 being the width of one package. The step is not as high as the height of a package and preferably is about half the height of a bottle package.

The forward end of the bottom plate or sheet is formed in a U-shaped bend 5, which forms a shallow step at the front whereas at the rear the plate is simply welded to the bottom flange of the back plate or sheet. This results in giving a slight tilt to the bottom plate which is advantageous in keeping the bottle packages in position. Straps 6, 6 are preferably welded to the bottom plate at the front and extend beneath it to the connection with the back plate at the rear. These are simply for strength.

The guard rails l, I which as shown are of rectangular cross section but could be formed as desired for appearance, are Welded to the corners of the bottom plate at the front, thence extend upwardly to an angle bend at 8, and thence at a slant to the corners of the back plate at the top where they are again welded in place. The angle bend is located at such a point that there is some protection for the lower corner of the upper package of bottles in the most forward stack in the rack.

I have indicated at 9, the bottle packages. In arranging them on the rack a stack of three is placed in front, forward of the step 4, a stack of three is placed on the step and a stack of four is placed behind the step. The result is a stepped series of bottle packages, the height of the step being the spacing between the tops of the uppermost bottle packages. If the step is just one half the height of a bottle package, the step will be an even step in the completely assembled rack of bottle packages.

Since there is a slight slant to the rear, this tends to keep the front row fairly firmly in place. The guard rails are spaced so that there is the width of one package between them, thus permitting ready removal of any of the uppermost bottle packages from the assembly. The break joint relation of the packages in the several stacks taken with the slant to the bottom plate, makes for firmness of location against slipping of the bottle packages. The guard rails prevent spaced the full height of a package when -arranged stepwise. 7

Having thus described my invention What I claim as new and desire to securebyLetters Patent is:

1. A bottle package display rack comprising a back plate, a bottom plate having a step formed intermediate its front and rear, which step is of the cross sectional dimensions of a bottle package, said front and rear portions being below the step, there being a portion of thebottom plate both in front and in the rear of the step, sumcient to support a bottle, package, and guard rails extending upwardly from the frontcorners of the bottom plate to the upper corners of the back plate spaced apart the width of a bottle packakel 2. A bottle package display rack comprising a back plate, a bottom plate having a step formed intermediate its front and rear, which step is of the cross sectional dimensions of a bottle package, said front and rear portions being below the step, there being a portion of the bottom plate both in front and in the rear of the step, sufficient to support a bottle package, and guard rails extending upwardly from the front corners of the bottom plate to the upper corners of the back plate spaced apart the Width of a bottle package, said step being substantially one half the height of a bottle package.

3. A bottle package display rack comprising a back plate, a bottom plate having a step formed intermediate its front and rear, which step is of the cross sectional dimensions of a bottle package, said front and rear portions being below the step, there being a portion of the bottom plate both in front and in the rear of the step, suflicient to support a bottle package, and guard rails extending upwardly from the front corners of the bottom plate to the upper corners of the back plate spaced apart the width of a bottle package, said bottom plate having a support which is higher at the front than the rear thus giving a slant of the bottom plate downwardly toward the back plate.

4. A bottle package display rack comprising a back plate, a bottom plate having a step formed intermediate its front and rear, which step is of the cross sectional dimensions of a bottle package, said front and rear portions being below the step, there being a portion of the bottom plate both in front and in the rear of the step, sufficient to support a bottle package and guard rails extending upwardly from the front corners of the bottom plate to the upper corners of the back plate spaced apart the width of a bottle package, the guard rail extending in a path to lie along the sides of all bottle packages in the uppermost row of bottle packages, when arranged in stacks in sufficient number to make a stepped relation front to back, terminating with the top package of the rearmost stack substantially level with the top of the back plate.

- JAMES J. OBRIEN. 

